Clearing Pastures
Last week we finally got some much needed rain on the Ranch. We got about 2” total. This allowed the burn ban to be lifted and we were able to burn some piles of brush that have been sitting since spring. We are working on removing cedar (juniper), prickly pear, flame sumac and some of the mesquite from our pastures. This allows us to grow more native grasses and improve our grazing for the cattle. It is slow process because some of the pastures have been taken over by these invasive plants and some pastures have large rocks that make it difficult to move equipment across.
During our process of restoring our rangelands for our cattle it is evident that the previous stewards of the land were making attempts at removing the rocks and piling them. You will see random piles of rocks all over the property.
We try to balance clearing the land for cattle grazing while leaving pockets of enough cover for the wildlife like the whitetail deer, doves, rabbits, etc. NOT THE PIGS THOUGH…… THEY HAVE GOT TO GO!
Our biggest problem on the ranch currently is the Ashe Juniper “cedar” it is so invasive and spreads so fast if not controlled consistently. Pastures we cleared in 2018-2019 of all juniper have already started returning with saplings this year and need to be treated again. Not only does the ashe juniper take up grazing land it sucks up water from the soil at a rate of about 30 gallons per day for a mature tree. Luckily the Ashe Juniper is easy to kill and control, it is just consistency about staying on top of the growth.
Bryon pushes the larger “cedar” into piles with the bull dozer and I pull the smaller ones out with the skid steer with an attachment called an intimidator tree & post puller. My favorite attachment by the way! After I pull them out, we use the grapple to put them on piles. We burn the piles once they dry out and there is adequate moisture on the ground to make sure they don’t get out of control. Bryon will also put a firebreak around each pile to control it!
Once the piles burn down it completely changes the landscape! We love seeing the transformation of the land back to native grasslands!
